My Man Ianto
by wanda1969
Summary: One night rich layabout Jack Harkness meets a young man down on his luck, and offers him the job of family butler...NOT GWEN FRIENDLY- be aware. Written specifically for reel torchwood
1. Chapter 1

**Beta'ed by ** janiemc

**Prompt**: "My Man Godfrey" (1936)  
**Pairing**(s): Jack/Ianto. Other characters: Owen Harper, Rhys Williams, Donna Noble, John Hart  
**Spoilers**: Spoilers for the film My Man Godfrey ('36)- none for Torchwood that I can think of.  
**Disclaimer**: I do not own Torchwood or My Man Godfrey, the plots and characters of which belong to their respective writers. I am just borrowing the characters and putting them in the film. NOT GWEN FRIENDLY- be warned. WRITTEN FOR reel_torchwood.

**Summary**: One night rich layabout Jack Harkness meets a young man down on his luck, and offers him the job of family butler...

"**My Man Ianto"**

**Chapter 1**

Ianto took the last gulp from his bottle of beer, and looked around at his four drinking 'companions' as he swallowed. The only one of them, Steve (who was still awake, but somewhat stupefied), was still upright, slumped against a small pile of tyres staring into the fire he'd built outside the abandoned dockside warehouse. The other three had passed out some time ago on a couple of fly tipped sofas. He put his empty bottle down and sighed; it was about time he made a move.

He was just about to get up from the beer crate he'd been sitting on, when he heard a car- make that two cars, he thought to himself as he looked behind him. He was just getting ready to lean forward and attempt to warn the others, when he realized the two cars weren't the type that you usually saw down at Cardiff docks at 11pm on a Friday night. One was a small red sporty model, the other a top of the range 4x4. The vehicles came closer, finally coming to a halt some distance from him.

His suspicion that the vehicles and their occupants were not regular visitors to the docks were confirmed when the door of the red sporty number flew open and out got a well dressed, dark haired woman who started towards him. She definitely didn't belong there; she was wearing dark trousers, knee high boots and a leather jacket. A well built man got out of the other side of the car and followed in her wake. Within seconds the door of the 4x4 had opened and a man dressed in an immaculate suit, and deep blue silk shirt (no tie) was chasing after the woman.

"Gwen! Now this is just cheating! I told you about this place!" he said petulantly in an American accent.

"All's fair in war, Jack!" she laughed heading right over to the group of men. She stopped a couple of yards away from them and looked between them, before her eyes settled on Ianto. He looked the most coherent and conscious of the group.

"Hi!" she smiled, showing off a gappy grin. Now this one sounded Welsh. "How'd you like to earn twenty quid?"

Ianto's interest was piqued. "I don't want to seem inquisitive, but what exactly would I have to _do_ for twenty quid?"

"Just come along with me to the St David's Hotel, see some people, and then we'll bring you right back," she replied breezily.

"And why would _anyone_ at St David's Hotel want to see _me, _of all people?"

"Well, we're having a bit of a fundraiser, a Scavenger Hunt. You know- where you're given a list of things to find? And I'll win if I get back first with a down and out…" she paused, and tried to think of a more politically correct way of phrasing it as she saw the young man's eyebrows raise. "I mean a homeless person- a forgotten man…Anyway, do you want the twenty pounds or not?"

"You, know, I'm not sure I do." Ianto said standing up and looking into the woman's eyes. "And I'm not sure I want to take part in your stupid rich kids' games."

"It's for charity- and I'd be giving you twenty pounds, so you could call that charity too…." She said as she backed away. It was then that she stumbled, the heel of her boot catching in one of the plastic bags which were blowing about, and fell into a muddy puddle.

Ianto heard a gasp, and turned to see the American suddenly burst into laughter, unable to contain himself.

"Shit!" she muttered before shouting over to the well built man. "Rhys, help me up!"

The woman, 'Gwen' Ianto supposed, was sounding agitated now. "My clothes are ruined- I'm going to have to call back home to change." As 'Rhys' took her arm about to guide her back to their car, she turned to Ianto. "And I don't need you to win. You've lost out on that twenty pounds."

"C'mon Gwen. We're leaving," Rhys said under his breath as they walked away.

"Well, that's about one of the funniest things I've seen in a long time- and it's about time someone said no to Gwen!" the American said as his laughter died down and he faced Ianto. "Y'know it's almost worth losing the Hunt, just to see that. A pity she's still in with a chance of winning, though… she's always had to win everything even when we were kids."

"Old school friends?" Ianto asked.

The American laughed again. "Old friends? God, no! She's my stepsister!"

"Stepsister? I guess that'd explain why you don't sound Welsh then?"

"Yeah. Nothing gets past you, does it? Funny though, the Welsh sounds good on you! Growing up with Gwen and my step mum, I never really noticed how beautiful all those vowels could sound…" the man said as he stared at Ianto with a grin.

Ianto wasn't sure why, but he suddenly found himself wanting to help the man beat Gwen. He had a suspicion that it had something to do with the American's bright, blue eyes and easy lop-sided smile. "If I was to go with you, would you win the Scavenger Hunt?"

"Well, yeah- but I didn't want to ask…"

"Come on then, let's go and beat her!"

"Are you sure?" he asked and Ianto nodded. "Ok then, come on…By the way, I'm Jack."

"I know, I heard. And I'm Ianto."

"Ianto- I like that. Lots of those lovely Welsh vowels again," Jack said smiling at him distractedly. "Anyway let's get going."

xxx

Jack Harkness Senior sat at the bar of the St David's Hotel, staring into his glass of Scotch. He was bored. Yet again he'd let that family of his talk him into attending another one of their childish fundraisers, along with its puerile Scavenger Hunt competition. Whoever thought that these events were a wise way for the idle rich to spend their time had obviously never had the misfortune to have to spend an evening at one. He took a rather large mouthful of the Scotch and reflected that things could have been worse; his wife might not have been taking part in the Scavenger Hunt, and could be here, wittering on at him…

He looked down the bar and spotted an equally bored looking middle aged man. 'Another charity event widower,' he thought to himself, as the two men smiled at each other thinly.

"Henry Peters," the other man said introducing himself as he stared around the bar miserably. "It's like an insane asylum in here tonight."

"Jack Harkness. Welcome to the madness! And you know what they say about insane asylums? All you need is an empty room and the right kind of people. And if my family are here, they've certainly got the right kind of people…"

The other man laughed, as he looked out into the foyer of the hotel only to see a woman in a cocktail dress leading a goat through the throng of partygoers. "You could be right! God, have you seen that dizzy looking one with the goat?"

Mr Harkness looked over. "Oh, that one-I'm afraid so; that's Mrs Harkness…"

"I'm sorry…"

"Well now you know how I've felt for the last fifteen years." Mr Harkness said as he turned back to his whisky.

xxx

Twenty minutes later found Jack and Ianto walking into the St David's Hotel foyer and into its largest function room. The room was in absolute chaos, with groups of people carrying an assortment of objects from abacuses to zoetropes, and some were even leading various animals through the room.

Ianto even spotted a woman with a goat. He was even more surprised when she rushed over to Jack, a wiry blond haired man trailing after her.

"Jack!" she screeched as she caught up with him and eyed Ianto curiously. "Who's this?"

"Oh, this is Ianto. Ianto, meet my step mother. And John Hart." Before Ianto could say anything Jack was speaking again. "I'm sorry I have to rush. Come on! We have to take you to the verifying committee," he urged as he took Ianto's hand and pulled him away through the crowds, towards a long table at the far end of the room.

"Ah, Jack Harkness, what have you got for us?" a man behind the tables said as he reached over to a list of names.

"Ianto, he's a forgotten man- a homeless person."

The man behind the table eyed them suspiciously as he took in Ianto's shabby appearance- a woolly hat, a rather worn coat with a hoodie protruding over the collar, and some distinctly shoddy jeans- before looking at the young man's unkempt beard.

"I'm afraid if you don't mind I'm going to have to just- touch- that beard?"

"And _why_ would you have to do that?" Ianto said defensively.

"Well, we've had a few groups trying to cheat- one even dressed up one of their own party and gave him a false beard."

Reluctantly, Ianto let the man lean forward a pull on his stubble.

"Yep- real enough. And he even smells of beer, too! Right, added to your earlier tally and not forgetting the fireman's helmet, the policeman's helmet and the district judge's wig- which was a hat trick, by the way…that brings your score to …1050." He looked around the table until he found a microphone. "Quiet, please! Quiet! We have a winner- the first contestant past the 1000 point mark, and therefore the winner, is Jack Harkness, who has brought back an impressive number of the items on the list, including a forgotten man- a down and out!"

As the room became quiet, several guests looked over at the winner and his 'forgotten man'. One man took a swig of his cocktail before shouting out. "Go on, Jack- let him give us a speech!"

Ianto had had a shit day- scratch that, a shit week- and it was with a pinch of mischievousness that he grabbed the mic. He was sure that no-one here would recognise him, especially dressed like this, and wearing that (now verified) beard.

"My purpose in coming here was twofold. Firstly to help Mr Harkness here to win the Scavenger Hunt, but secondly to see how a group of self absorbed nitwits with more money than sense spend their evenings these days. That done I intend to leave. Good evening."

Ianto turned and walked with as much dignity as he could muster through the rather stunned and silent room and towards the main doors.

"Wait! Ianto! Don't go! I haven't thanked you yet."

The Welshman had reached the doors and stopped to look behind him. Jack had caught up with him.

"Look, you've beaten Gwen- that's thanks enough."

"Yeah," the American grinned at him. "But you did something for me- I ought to do something for you. It only seems fair. Gwen was going to give you twenty pounds…"

"Look, Jack. I don't want your charity, much as twenty quid's always welcome."

"But there must be something?"

"Nope, not unless you've got a job?" Ianto said. "I've always preferred to do an honest day's work if I'm going to get any money."

"Well, no- not unless you can 'butle'?"

"'Butle'?"

"'Butle'- you know like a butler. Ours quit last week. I don't suppose you've ever been a butler?" Jack asked.

"No, I can't say I have, but I' think I have a fairly good idea what's involved…"

Unfortunately, the woman that Ianto recognized as Jack's stepmother was hurtling towards the two men, her hand still holding onto a piece of string securing the goat he'd seen earlier. "Jack! Found you at last. Your father and I are heading home now. What're you doing here? Aren't you collecting your prize?"

"No, they can keep the prize. And I was talking to Ianto."

"You can't stand around talking to this man- what will everyone think?" his stepmother asked incredulously as she eyed the 'down and out' with obvious disgust.

"I don't care what they think, and anyway, Ianto's going to be our new butler."

"Jack, darling," Mrs Harkness said patiently. "This man _can't_ be our butler…"

"Why not? You've got your projects? Look at John- and he doesn't even do anything useful. Just sits around all day splashing paint around. At least Ianto would be doing a proper job. And you know Sanderson left last week after John freaked him out with that naked arts project in the Morning Room…" Jack pouted in what ought to be a very childish manner, but yet he managed to look really quite endearing.

"There's a _difference_, Jack. I'm John's _patron_- all new artists need looking after and helping out."

"And that's what I'd be doing- looking after Ianto and helping him back into work."

Mrs Harkness faced Ianto, and put on her best authoritative and dismissive Welsh tone- the kind that Ianto remembered from his childhood and school. "Thank you for helping, now run along, little man, and don't listen to my stepson- he can be very impulsive!"

"He will not run along and _I _am not impulsive," Jack almost shouted.

"Well there was that time you tried to climb the Millennium centre after the Barnardo's charity ball- I'd say that was pretty impulsive and then…Ah, Gwen you're back!" she said as Gwen swept in followed by Rhys and a man in his mid-thirties, bottle of vodka clutched in his hand.

"You're a little too late, Gwen." Jack said proudly. "I win this time."

There was a peeved expression on her face as she recognized Ianto from earlier. "So you got him to come with you?"

Mrs Harkness looked confused "You know him? Jack here wants him to be our butler. Tell your brother what a stupid idea that is!"

"Oh, I don't know- I think he'd make a very good butler," Gwen said slowly. There was a look on her face which Ianto took to be Gwen inwardly plotting her revenge for not winning the Scavenger Hunt.

"I think I'd make a very good butler, too," he said- this family certainly provided entertainment and Ianto was starting to see it as a challenge to make sure that he did indeed become a new addition to the Harkness family's staff.

"Don't be ridiculous Gwen. And I'm not sticking around to hear any more of this nonsense. If only I'd realized before now that insanity runs in your father's family," she said, pointedly looking at Jack, before sweeping out through the hotel foyer.

"Well, I hope for your sake, that you're very good at shining shoes and taking orders. I give you a week." She gave the Welshman a look of disdain as she headed towards the exit too. "Come on Rhys, we're going."

"Well done, Jack. And good night." He said apologetically as he trailed after Gwen, her 'down and out' following him, still happily clutching the vodka bottle.

"Thanks Rhys- good night."

"God! I feel sorry for him!" Ianto said as soon as his fellow Welshman was out of earshot. "Anyway, I think we'd better forget this butler idea."

"No, we won't. I think you'll make a wonderful butler." Jack fished a card out of his inside jacket pocket. "Here's the address. Come by tomorrow- no make that Sunday morning; I'm visiting friends all day tomorrow. And you'll need to get yourself some clothes." Along with the card, he handed what looked like at least five twenty pound notes.

"I told you, I don't need your charity…"

"This isn't charity, Ianto. The clothes are for work, and if it makes you feel any better I'll make it an advance on your wages," he said.

"Ok, ok- I'll see you on Sunday, then." And with that Ianto turned and walked through the foyer.

"See you!" Jack shouted after him, and was pleased to see the Welshman turn slightly and give a wave as he left.

xxx

Jack Harkness Jnr stared after Ianto as he left. That guy was interesting; he certainly didn't sound as if he should be living at Cardiff docks, not with that lovely Welsh accent, and he loved the way that he'd told that entire room that they were 'nitwits'…

It _was_ a pity about the beard though.

He hoped against hope that Ianto would turn up on Sunday. Helping Ianto get a new life was going to give him something to do, a purpose.

xxx

**TBC**


	2. Chapter 2

**Beta'ed by ** janiemc

**Prompt**: "My Man Godfrey" (1936)  
**Pairing**(s): Jack/Ianto. Other characters: Owen Harper, Rhys Williams, Donna Noble, John Hart  
**Spoilers**: Spoilers for the film My Man Godfrey ('36)- none for Torchwood that I can think of.  
**Disclaimer**: I do not own Torchwood or My Man Godfrey, the plots and characters of which belong to their respective writers. I am just borrowing the characters and putting them in the film. NOT GWEN FRIENDLY- be warned. WRITTEN FOR reel_torchwood.

**Summary**: One night rich layabout Jack Harkness meets a young man down on his luck, and offers him the job of family butler...

A/N: Thank you everyone for the positive reviews; I hesitated about posting here due to the negative 'Gwen character'.

"**My Man Ianto"**

**Chapter 2**

Ianto ran a hand through his hair and then pulled at the hem of his jacket in an effort to smooth out any creases, and reached forward to press doorbell at the Harkness mansion. He'd spent the day before at the barber's shop having a haircut and wet shave, before heading out to the shops in an effort to make sure that he fitted the role of Harkness family butler.

He'd also done his best to research the Harknesses. Father- Jack Harkness Senior, American, family originally made their money in the nineteenth century in Copper and mineral mining in South America. Son- Jack Harkness Junior, mother deceased, no occupation listed anywhere. Mr Harkness' second wife- Welsh, heavily involved in various arts and charities committees, daughter, Gwen, from a previous marriage; again there were no details of any form of occupation.

He was wondering idly whether Jack Harkness would remember his "butle-ing" job offer, when the door opened.

He was greeted by a red-headed woman who looked him up and down, silently giving him a quick once over.

"Good morning," he greeted.

"And who are you?"

"I'm the new butler..."

"I should have guessed," she interrupted tiredly in a London accent, gesturing for him to enter. "There's a new one every bloody day here."

"Why? I guess they're pretty exacting," he said as he grabbed his suitcase and stepped in looking around the hallway.

"No, no. They're that barmy- most staff last until lunchtime before they do a runner."

"Oh, can I be frank?"

Before Ianto had time to continue the redhead was speaking again. "Is that your name?"

"No- I think you misunderstand. My name's Ianto. And yours is...?"

"I see...Oh right, I'm Donna, the housekeeper. Anyway, go on, then- be frank."

"Jack Harkness offered me the post on Saturday night. Asked me to be here on Sunday morning. I've got to admit I have no idea what the set-up is; I do have quarters, I take it?"

"Yeah- but I wouldn't worry about that. Just leave your bags by the door- I give you until midday. Either you'll run screaming from this place or you'll be sacked! As for the set-up, there's also a maid and a gardener, but they don't live in." Ianto raised his eyebrows as she continued. "Ok, ok, come downstairs with me- I'd say it's about time for your first job of the day. It _may_ about time for the breakfast duties to start, but you can never tell with this lot."

The Harkness family certainly weren't early risers, Ianto thought, as he followed and looked at his wristwatch- it was now 9.30 in the morning.

xxx

"So they really didn't tell you what you were in for?" smiled Donna, as Ianto attended to the Gaggia coffee machine in the corner of the kitchen.

"Like I said, it was only Saturday when I was offered the job."

" Well at least you seem to be able to find your way 'round the coffee machine- I could never make head nor tail of it."

Ianto smiled, winking at the housekeeper. "Coffee- it's my secret weapon."

Whatever Donna was going to respond with was cut short as the buzzer on the wall went off, and a light next to the words 'Bedroom- Mrs Harkness' illuminated.

"Here we go!" Donna laughed. "You'd better get Mrs Harkness' tomato juice and add some Worcestershire sauce- nothing like an irritant- or else I'll win my bet: you- Out of here by twelve!"

Ianto just smiled as he reached for the refrigerator and took out a carton of tomato juice and an egg, before searching the nearby cupboards until he found what he was looking for- a bottle of Jamaican scotch bonnet Tabasco sauce. He quickly searched the cupboards for the next ingredients: sprinkles of freshly ground black pepper, sea salt and cayenne, a dash of Stolinchaya vodka and a dash of Worcestershire sauce. Within seconds he'd assembled and mixed the lot and poured it into a glass. Almost before Donna had time to blink, the glass had been placed on a platter along with a coffee cup, a bowl of sugar and a small jug of milk. Ianto poured a small pot of coffee added it to the tray and headed swiftly out of the kitchen, turning briefly.

"So where do I find her?"

"First floor- second door on the left. Happy landings, Ianto! Be prepared- she always sees pixies after a heavy night."

xxx

Ianto made his way up the stairs as he pondered exactly why he'd accepted Jack Harkness' offer of a job. Curiosity certainly played a part, but he had to admit he'd been getting more than a little bored of his life. He smiled to himself; this could prove to be an interesting distraction for the time being.

He found himself outside Mrs Harkness' bedroom door and schooled his features into what he imagined to be his best 'professional Butler' face before knocking. He heard a whimper from inside and, moving a little closer, heard a mumbled "Come in."

Ianto entered the bedroom. The curtains were still drawn and as he looked around he could see the lady of the house lying in bed. He could also hear an annoying jingling sound- a sound which Mrs Harkness was obviously not enjoying.

"Oh my God! You've got to stop them!"

"Stop what ma'am?"

"The pixies- they just keep playing the same tune. Always the same tune over and over again! Send them away- quietly," she groaned.

"Aah. I think we may be able to fix that for you, madam," he said as he put down the tray on the bedside table and then moved towards the jingling sound, which was coming from over near the window. He drew back the curtains (another small whimper came from the bed) and spied the source of the noise- a set of wind chimes hanging in the bay window. He reached out and gently stilled the chimes and then unhooked them and placed them on the nearby dressing table.

"Oh! That's better; now if they'd just stop dancing in my head, too," she said looking over to him. She raised herself a little as she tried to focus on Ianto. "Who are you? And can you stop jumping about?"

Ianto was standing perfectly still; perhaps it's time for that tomato juice, he reflected.

"We met on Friday night, Mrs Harkness..."

"Aaah...were you with Mrs Wotsit's party...?"

"No, Mrs Harkness. I'm Ianto," he replied as he moved towards the bedside table and handed her the glass of juice. "I'm the forgotten man from the scavenger hunt. I was offered a position here."

"I thought you had a beard? Where's the beard? And what's this?" she said as she looked down at the drink in her hand.

"That's pixie remover."

"Oh...I just drink it?"

"Yes, Just drink it, ma'am, and the dancing pixies will go away."

Mrs Harkness took a sip, her eyes widening as she took several mouthfuls of the tomato juice down as Ianto watched for a moment.

"Aah...the pixies seem to have stopped!" She smiled and placed the glass on the bedside table; she'd left a small amount of the drink in the glass. "I'd better not have any more, in case you go away, too."

"And to complete the cure, we have coffee," the butler said pouring her a cup. "Do you take milk and sugar?"

"Not this early in the morning."

"Excellent- that certainly beats Donna's usual efforts! I'm feeling much better. Thank you, Ianto," she nodded, effectively dismissing him.

"Thank _you_, Mrs Harkness." The Welshman turned and made his way out of the room and back to the kitchen to find Donna smiling a little smugly.

"You can make your way out the front way..."

Ianto smiled back at her, "Oh, I've not been sacked yet- in fact, I seem to have sent the pixies away. Mrs Harkness was most grateful."

The housekeeper looked surprised. "Well, you seem to have passed the first test of the day but Gwen won't be so easy- she's next on the list, and she's got a foul temper first thing in the morning."

"_I bet she has_," he thought thinking back to Friday night.

The young man assembled another tray of drinks and headed back upstairs, this time to Gwen's room and knocked on the door. He heard a shout of "What?" before heading inside the darkened bedroom.

Unfortunately, on this occasion he wasn't welcomed warmly or otherwise.

"What the hell do you want? Get out! I'm trying to sleep!"

"I've just brought your juice and coffee, Miss. I'll just leave it here for you," he whispered as he placed the tray on the nearest occasional table, before hurrying out of the room, narrowly dodging the pillow thrown at him from the direction of Gwen's bed.

"See, not that easy is it, Butler boy?" Donna laughed as he came down the stairs to find her standing holding Jack's breakfast tray. "I could hear her shouting from down here."

Ianto shrugged with a slight smile on his lips. "I don't know. That's a 50 per cent success rate so far; surely I get an opportunity to at least make it two out of three?"

"Oh, yeah, it's Mr Harkness Jnr next, Jack. Now he's a little more...insidious. The room at the end of the landing. You won't have to bother with old Mr Harkness, he's got the common sense to get out of the house and away from the rest of them as early as possible for a round of golf. So I'll leave your things by the door," she grinned and passed the tray to Ianto. She had to admire the young Butler's perseverance. Most staff never made it through a Sunday morning in the Harkness household. The family was batty at the best of times, but Sunday morning (and its attendant hangovers) were usually enough to finish off the strongest willed member of staff.

Ianto climbed up the stairs and as he walked along the landing he remembered back to Friday night; Jack Harkness had seemed genial if a little overfriendly and earnest, not to mention acting without thinking things through- who else would employ a down and out as a butler only an hour after meeting them? He was confident that the other man would be no trouble at all.

He entered Jack's room, to see a prone form completely covered by the duvet.

Coughing, Ianto spoke and placed the breakfast on a small table. "Good morning, Sir. I've brought your coffee."

The body turned over and a pair of hands appeared from under the quilt and pushed it back to reveal Jack Harkness staring at him in sleepy confusion.

"Are you the new butler?"

"Of course, Sir."

Jack pushed himself up into a sitting position and looked him up and down. "What happened to Ianto?"

"I am Ianto, Sir."

Jack grinned as he reached for the coffee pot and poured himself a cup. "Ok, what happened to the beard?"

"I shaved, Sir. I'm sure you've heard of shaving?"

Mr Harkness Jnr nodded and took a swig of the coffee. "Wow! This is exactly what I need first thing in the morning! I'd forgotten about those lovely Welsh vowels...and I have to say I approve of the suit. Now why don't you sit down?" He patted the side of the bed.

"I'm not sure that would be proper..."

"Of course it would. If you're standing up I'll feel all uncomfortable and if I'm uncomfortable I'll forget what I'm saying, and then you'll feel uncomfortable, too."

Ianto wasn't sure about the idea at all- Jack Harkness clearly didn't believe in pyjamas, and he couldn't help himself from admiring the man's well toned chest and arms. He averted his gaze as best he could and moved to sit on the very edge of the bed.

"Well, I have to say this is all very thrilling," Jack said as he reached past the butler to grab the plate of toast. I've never been a mentor before. You're not an artist or anything are you? John- that's my stepmum's protégé- he's an artist. Well, he says he is...I have my doubts."

"I'm afraid not..."

"Never mind!" Jack mumbled through a mouthful of toast. "I reckon there're quite a few responsibilities attached to this mentoring stuff. It's gonna be fun!"

"Not all fun, Sir. I have responsibilities, too; if I don't do my job well it could reflect badly on you, and we wouldn't want that would we? So I'd best get on with my work." Ianto replied standing up.

"I think I'm gonna enjoy this, Ianto. I get to be responsible for you. Very nice, and I _really _love the suit."

"I think that could be harassment, _Sir_..."

Ianto noticed the arched eyebrow and slight smirk on the other man's face as took another drink of coffee and stared over at the butler. It was definitely time to make a quick getaway.

"Well, I'll leave you to your breakfast, Sir".

With that he swiftly left the room and closed the door. He stood a moment on the landing as he composed himself and ran a finger around his collar- it really had been rather warm in that room- and made his way down the stairs for the third time that morning.

His thoughts were interrupted as he bumped into a large man at the bottom of the stairs.

"And what the hell do you think you're doing? I was boxing champion at Harrow in my day, and if you think you can just sneak out of my house like this you've got another thing coming. I'm the old fashioned type, even if it looks like I let my kids do anything they want..."

Shocked, Ianto realised what the older man, who he recognised as the head of the house, was saying. "Sir, I think you may have got the wrong end of the stick," he stuttered. "I...I'm the new butler."

Ianto was relieved to see Donna appear. "Mr Harkness, this really _is_ the new butler, Mr Jones. He was just about to help me with a few things. It seems that Miss Gwen drove the Aston into the fishpond at the side of the garage last night- we have a few repairs to sort out. To both the Aston and the fishpond." Mr Harkness sighed resignedly as his new butler smiled and helped him out of his coat.

"Sorry about that, Jones..." he said before sighing again. "I'm going to head to the library for some peace and quiet with the Sunday Times. At least until this afternoon..."

"Well, Ianto, do you get the idea?" Donna laughed as she led him back downstairs to his room.

xxx

**TBC**


	3. Chapter 3

**Beta'ed by ** the rather wonderful janiemc

**Prompt**: "My Man Godfrey" (1936)  
**Pairing**(s): Jack/Ianto. Other characters: Owen Harper, Rhys Williams, Donna Noble, John Hart  
**Spoilers**: Spoilers for the film My Man Godfrey ('36)- none for Torchwood that I can think of.  
**Disclaimer**: I do not own Torchwood or My Man Godfrey, the plots and characters of which belong to their respective writers. I am just borrowing the characters and putting them in the film. NOT GWEN FRIENDLY- be warned. WRITTEN FOR reel_torchwood.

**Summary**: One night rich layabout Jack Harkness meets a young man down on his luck, and offers him the job of family butler...

A/N: Thank you everyone for the positive reviews and story alerts- I've been surprised by the number of lovely comments for this one!

"**My Man Ianto"**

**Chapter 3**

The next couple of weeks were quite uneventful; even the Harknesses reduced their partying on a weekday. But Ianto still found himself trying to avoid Jack Harkness Jnr -and failing rather miserably; not only was he rather persistent, but he had an air of irresistibility about him. There was something about the way he would fix Ianto with those piercing blue eyes and a longing look...Ianto would be lying if he said that he wasn't having difficulty stopping himself from just giving in, just wishing he'd met Jack under different circumstances. Ianto had maintained a pristine veneer of professionalism. He'd settled into a routine, and had managed to avoid a repeat performance of the first Sunday morning's events, where he'd almost been unable to tear his eyes away from Jack, dishevelled and so obviously naked as he sat in his bed.

Jack however, had been relishing his role as a mentor. He'd tried talking to the Welshman at every opportunity, trying to fathom what on Earth could have caused him to end up living at Cardiff Dock. Ianto had managed to deflect most of the questions. There had even been a conversation where Jack had asked him why he lived there when there were so many nicer places to live.

"_My doctor told me the sea air would be good for my asthma."_

"_Really? _Jack had said. "_I've got an uncle with asthma..." _Ianto had got the feeling that Jack just wasn't used to his level of sarcasm...

It was a Saturday two weeks after he'd first arrived and Ianto had chosen a black pinstripe suit (God forbid that the Harknesses noticed that it was Armani, and well beyond his wages as a butler) and a deep maroon silk shirt, with a tie just a shade darker. He checked his appearance and stepped out of his rooms, only to bump straight into Jack.

The man stared at Ianto hesitantly- at least, Ianto thought, he knew it wasn't proper to look at the butler that way. He knew it could be seen as taking advantage of the staff. But Jack couldn't help but speak.

"'Morning Ianto...how are you doing today?"

"Fine, fine...Sir..."

"I think you're settling in very well..."

"I'd like to think so..."

"Incidentally...I love the shirt, it suits you, Ianto...," Jack said as he looked up at Ianto.

"Thank you, Sir."

"You do know, Ianto, that you don't have to call me Sir, don't you? I am supposed to be your mentor, a friend. I'm supposed to get you back on track. We could even look into some kind of training, if you wanted to."

Ianto smiled, Jack really was trying and the butler couldn't help but think that the gesture was a sweet one. And Jack _really_ did look cute, he thought as he stared at him. He found Jack staring back, and possibly standing just that little bit too close- so close that Ianto could smell the fresh scent of his shampoo. He found himself wishing that he'd met the Harkness son under different circumstances- perhaps at a club or party. And by the way that Jack was looking at him, he was obviously having very similar thoughts. At some point it was going to be hard to explain exactly what he was doing here, pretending to be a butler.

Ianto really was finding it hard to resist just leaning forward and...and then before he knew it, he wasn't resisting at all, he and Jack were kissing, arms around one another. It was only a matter of seconds before the Welshman came to his senses and pulled away, blushing slightly and looking a little flustered.

"I'm sorry, Jack, I mean, Sir...I don't think that was entirely appropriate behaviour for a butler" he said as he hastily moved away, trying to put as much distance between himself and the other man.

As he pulled back, Ianto was surprised to see Jack looking almost as embarrassed and unsure as _he_ was feeling.

"I have to get the morning papers now, Sir," The Welshman said excusing himself before setting out purposefully.

What neither man had seen was Gwen; feeling surprisingly clear headed for the weekend, she'd made her way downstairs looking for Ianto- in the last couple of she'd learned that his coffees were just the thing to provide her with all the energy needed to face the day. She'd tuned into the corridor to the kitchen, and had stopped in her tracks as she looked ahead as she saw her step brother and the _butler, _for goodness' sake, looking at each other longingly, before kissing and falling into what could only be described as a passionate embrace.

Gwen knew it was irrational; she had Rhys, but her childhood resentment of her stepbrother kicked into play. She was jealous of Jack's freedom and ability to float carelessly through life. More than that she found herself jealous that'd he'd brought that man, Ianto, here, with no questions asked by her parents (or at least very few) and now it turned out that Jack's motives had been far from innocent. She did wonder how Jack could even have guessed how the young man would look after a wash and brush up- it was certainly an amazing transformation.

Never mind; what she'd just seen filled her with the belief that this situation just wasn't right- either Jack was using Ianto or vice versa. Either way, she told herself, she had to put an end to the situation. The fact that she would finally be getting her revenge on both men- Jack for beating her at the Scavenger Hunt, and Ianto for helping him and making her fall into that puddle- hardly even entered her mind...

xxx

Ianto had spent the rest of the day getting ready for one of the family's cocktail parties. He'd even helped John Hart arrange a display of some of his latest 'paintings' (including 'Heaven', 'Hell', 'Purgatory' and 'Last Rites') for the event. He and Donna had also set the large sideboard in the Drawing Room with drinks before they headed to the kitchen to collect the canapés.

When he returned to the drawing room guests had started to arrive, including the long-suffering Rhys. John was holding court as a small group of women admired 'Heaven', 'Hell', 'Purgatory' and 'Last Rites' , Mrs Harkness clearly pleased that her protégé was causing quite a stir.

Ianto made his way amongst the guests quietly offering out the canapés, but found that at every turn he seemed to find Jack smiling and taking yet another blini or piece of bruschetta. Having Jack follow his every move was becoming a little distracting, in more ways than one; he couldn't deny that the son of the house was more than a little bit handsome, and he'd never been one to restrict his options on the romance front...but he was determined not to let his feelings get in the way of the job.

He was relieved to hear the doorbell, and rushed to answer it placing his tray on the sideboard.

The man who entered, overcoat on his arm, mumbled a perfunctory "Thanks" without even glancing at Ianto, a fact which comforted Ianto- he recognised the new guest. He followed the man who strode towards the party, hoping that he didn't turn around to spot him. Mind you, when did anyone ever take notice of the help at a party like this?

"Owen! Good to see you! The GP business going well?" Jack greeted.

It was at that moment that the man, Owen, turned round, looking for someone to off-load his overcoat onto, and saw Ianto. His face broke into a wide grin.

"Ifan! Ianto! I've not seen you in years! How're you doing?"

"You know Ianto- our butler?" Jack had heard the greeting even though he was a few yards away.

Owen laughed. "You must be joking! Ifan and me were at Oxford together! He's not a _butler_."

"I think you may be mistaking me for someone else..."

"Don't be stupid..."

"Ooh, a butler with a degree!" Ianto's heart sank- now Mrs Harkness was listening in.

"Oh, no, Mrs Harkness," he started before Owen Harper could continue. "Ifan _and_ Ianto are very common names in Wales. For that matter, so is Jones. And a lot of us Welsh do look the same."

Mrs Harkness and her step son exchanged looks, and Ianto took his opportunity to whisper to him. "Owen, say you're mistaken- I'll explain it to you later. Please?"

Owen looked confused for a moment, before giving an almost imperceptible nod. "Now I come to think of it, my Ianto was quite a bit shorter. Sorry about that- not seen him in years. Easy mistake to make, I guess."

Astonishingly, Owen's explanation seemed plausible enough to the Harknesses, and the doctor drifted towards the main party while Ianto breathed a sigh of relief and carried on with his duties.

A couple of hours later the 'butler' was in the hallway heading towards the kitchen when he heard Owen's voice behind him. "Ianto."

Ianto turned speaking quietly. "Thanks for that, Owen!"

"What the hell is all of this about? And what are you doing working as a butler, for the Harknesses, of all people?"

"I can't tell you right now, but give me a call," he reached inside his jacket and scribbled down his telephone number and handed it to Harper. "We can meet up during the week, and I'll explain everything, I promise. Just don't say anything for the time being."

"OK, OK. I've got a feeling this is going to be _good,_" Owen smiled and pocketed the slip of paper.

xxx

Ianto walked into the pub and ordered a pint of Brains, before looking around to see Owen sat at a small table, a pint in his hand. He handed the barmaid some change and took a swig of his pint, and headed over to join Dr Harper.

"How are you doing, Owen?" he said taking a seat.

"_I'm _fine; y'know, healing the sick, helping the needy. A pity I have to actually _see_ the patients...Anyway, that's all pretty uninteresting. What IS _interesting_ is what the hell you're doing working as a bloody butler? You just dropped off the radar a couple of years ago, and now I find you as hired help, while your parents are telling everyone you're doing volunteer work in Africa!"

Ianto laughed. "Well, a bit of a long story..."

"I'm not back at the practice today- I've got time. In fact, I'm looking forward to hearing _this_ one..."

"Ok! I'll start at the beginning. After I split up with Lisa, I kind of found myself doing the usual round of parties- you know the crap. I started to wonder what I was doing; you can't just live off family money all the time. Anyhow I thought I might do something I wanted to do. So I just walked out- met up with some old friends, found a flat, started to play the guitar again. We started gigging, doing the club circuit..."

"That figures- you always did like performing."

"Yeah. It's all I ever really wanted to do, but dad didn't think it was a dignified career...anyway, we were doing well. Then one of the guys, started drinking a bit too much. Not good for our bookings. Next thing I know, he's been thrown out by his girlfriend, starts hanging around with some smackhead. Before you know it, it was a downward spiral. Ended up living rough down by the docks. I'd go and see him every so often, try to make him see sense, but by then he just wouldn't see sense. Anyway, I thought I'd give it one last go, so I went to see him down there on Friday night. He was out of it. He just wouldn't listen- I was even willing to pay for rehab."

"There's a point, Ianto, when they just won't see sense. People will only change their ways when they're ready..."

"Yup, that's about the top and bottom of it. He passed out and I was just sitting there on a crate, wondering what to do and these two cars pulled up. The first person out was Gwen Harkness. She just assumed I lived there and I'd go along with her bloody Scavenger Hunt for twenty quid! I'm not sure what was worse, her assumptions about me, or the fact that I obviously looked so shit she thought I was a down and out!" he said grinning.

Owen laughed. "She can be a bit of a spoilt brat- and I speak from experience!"

"Oh, no, Owen- surely not...?"

"We all make mistakes- and it was before Toshiko. I'd like to say it was before Rhys, too, but you know how it is; I was going through a bit of a bad patch. I'm well out of that now."

"Well, who would have thought..." Ianto was speechless for a moment, before he continued. "Anyway, that's when Jack arrived. I thought he was a bit of an airhead, but kind of cute. In comparison to Gwen he was a bit of a sweetheart- actually seemed interested in me. So I thought I'd go with him and help him win the hunt. And then when we were over at St David's he asked me to come and work for them, said he wanted to help me. I couldn't resist- he just looked so sincere, and I thought it would be a bit of fun. So there you have it. I haven't told them who I am and I don't really want to be caught out lying at the moment."

"I should have known, there'd be some guy or girl involved. Jack Harkness, eh? I know what you mean, though- he does come across as a bit of an airhead, but I've worked with him on a lot of the hospital fundraising committees. He just needs something to focus his mind on, and judging from the way he was looking at you on Sunday, you may well be what he's focussing on right now." Owen could hardly contain his amusement as he shook his head. "Pretending to be a butler just 'cause a good looking guy comes along!"

"It's not funny, Owen! And now I'm stuck working as a butler, not quite sure how to tell them the truth!"

Owen was laughing his head off. "You've really got to keep me posted on this! Jack! Although I think you may have picked on the right type of bloke there- I've always heard he's open minded about who he'll shag as long as they're good-looking enough... "

Ianto groaned and lent forward, cradling his head in his hands. "Tell me about it- we kissed...and I'm not sure how long I can keep away from him. He just keeps popping up all over the house, ringing for coffee- or _anything_.And he keeps_ talking _to me..."

"Jesus! He's _smitten_! This just keeps getting better and better!" Owen _failed_ at this point to contain his amusement and started to laugh uncontrollably.

When, eventually, the doctor's laughter died down, the other man rolled his eyes; he certainly wasn't going to tell him that _he_ had started to realise he was as smitten with Jack as the other man was with him.

"Yeah, yeah...I don't want to even think about it, so tell me how you and Tosh are doing, to keep my mind off how I'm going to get out of this."

The rest of their meeting was spent chatting about old times and Owen's recent engagement to their old friend Toshiko, until the landlord shouted 'time'. The two men left agreeing to meet up again.

xxx

**TBC**


	4. Chapter 4

**Beta'ed by ** the rather wonderful janiemc

**Prompt**: "My Man Godfrey" (1936)  
**Pairing**(s): Jack/Ianto. Other characters: Owen Harper, Rhys Williams, Donna Noble, John Hart  
**Spoilers**: Spoilers for the film My Man Godfrey ('36)- none for Torchwood that I can think of.  
**Disclaimer**: I do not own Torchwood or My Man Godfrey, the plots and characters of which belong to their respective writers. I am just borrowing the characters and putting them in the film. NOT GWEN FRIENDLY- be warned. WRITTEN FOR reel_torchwood.

**Summary**: One night rich layabout Jack Harkness meets a young man down on his luck, and offers him the job of family butler...

A/N: A big thanks to everyone who's been reading, alerting and commenting!

Ch4- in which Gwen turns really bad- Gwen Bashing A-Go-go.

"**My Man Ianto"**

**Chapter 4**

As a job being a butler wasn't that bad; Ianto had managed to become almost indispensible, and he'd been with the Harkness family for 6 months now. He knew it wasn't the easiest job in the world: this family was _demanding._ For a start, they just didn't seem to realise exactly how _easy _their lives were- in a word, they were spoiled. Over the months, though, he'd come to like old Mr Harkness. He quietly got on with his life, and sometimes looked as exasperated with his family as Ianto was.

Gwen and Mrs Harkness were a different matter altogether. Although Ianto could, in some small way, relate to Mrs Harkness and her need for a purpose, even the ill advised (in Ianto's view) plan to sponsor John Hart, he hadn't made any such progress with Gwen. She constantly made comments about his 'background' (if only she knew!), but, more worrying than that, she seemed to have developed an interest in Ianto. Any excuse for putting down Ianto was taken, but, more worrying than that, she'd taken to keeping her eye on the butler.

Ianto supposed that Jack was pretty easy to read- it was pretty obvious that he spent his time mooning over the 'butler'.

And Jack...you'd have to be blind not to see that he spent the majority of his time in the house making sure that he was everywhere that Ianto was. It had even got to the stage that the two men had friendly chats when the house was quiet; Jack really did want to do something constructive with his life, he just had no idea of _what_, or how to go about it. And that was what had made it so hard for Ianto to come clean; there was a part of him that truly believed that he was just as bad as some of these overpriced nitwits. He'd gone and taken a job pretending he was homeless- just because he thought it would be a change, be fun. And so he decided to actually _do _something...

xxx

Ianto had kept in touch with his old friend Owen, and they met up whenever they both had some time off- usually in the evening... It was one of those days where Ianto's day off coincided with Owen's. On this occasion, though, Ianto had insisted on meeting with the doctor just after lunchtime, and had specified a cafe at the edge of Cardiff docks.

Owen arrived 10 minutes late, glancing at his wristwatch. "Sorry, mate. Had to pop in for an emergency home visit. How're you doing? And why are we meeting here?" he asked looking around.

"I'm fine, and no problem- I've only just got here myself. As for why we're meeting here: well, I've decided it's time for me to_ do _something _useful _with my time..."

"Ianto, you've got me intrigued!"

"C'mon. It's just over there," Ianto smiled. He looked out of the cafe window and gestured with his head in the direction of a large, old brick warehouse complex across the street and then stood up and left a fiver on the table.

"Curiouser and curiouser..." Owen mumbled as he followed the other man across the road and towards the warehouse's main doors.

As the doctor stepped inside the building behind Ianto, he glanced around. He found himself in a large, long room. The freshly plastered walls were being painted by two decorators and on the far wall of the room he could see two other workmen fitting what looked like kitchen cupboards.

"Ok, Ok- what _is_ this place?"

"Well, after a month or so at the Harknesses, I started to think that maybe Jack wanting to _help _people _was_ a 'good thing'. But it wasn't the right way to go about it. What some of the guys- and women- round here need is some proper help and training and introduction to the world of work...So I looked around, bought this warehouse, got the Council and some of the local charities 'on board' and, well, here it is," Ianto said as he looked around the room, suddenly embarrassed. "It's a kind of hostel cum training facility cum job and general advice centre...This is the main communal kitchen, dining and lounge area."

"What?"

"I think I've started up a charity...by accident. I was only trying to do something useful for a change..." Ianto trailed off.

"No, you've got me wrong! It's a great idea- but have you just been doing this on your days off? You never mentioned anything about it when we met up."

"Yeah, and I've got access to the internet over at the Harknesses. And, well, it all started off quite simply- just buy the building, don't get too involved. And then the next thing I knew it was all getting _big._ And before I realised it, all sorts of things were happening! Cardiff Council was getting in on the act, and then local charities..." By now Ianto was looking surprised and perhaps just a little bit freaked out, before he asked. "Can I show you the rest?

Owen followed the Welshman as he guided him around the building. Above the main area that he'd originally seen were a couple of floors of bedrooms and bathrooms- the 'hostel' part of the enterprise. The other half of the building was less complete, but was partitioned into what were going to be training rooms, offices and workshops.

xxx

It was now late afternoon, and Ianto and Owen were now sitting comfortably in one of the back rooms of one of the more popular bars in Cardiff, Millennium. Owen had insisted that they had a 'relaxing' drink, somewhere where they could talk about the Welshman's new venture. Neither man had seen the woman at the far end of the bar, watching them intently.

Ianto had told him how "The Hub"- his name for the training centre and hostel- had basically developed a life of its own. As soon as he'd approached the Council with the offer of a facility, basically kitted out and converted by him-free, gratis and for nothing, they'd started to get local groups involved and 'funding streams identified'- and then, to cap it all, he'd been cajoled into being on the Board.

When his friend had finished, Owen let out a sigh. "And you thought setting up a place like his would be anonymous? Although, I gotta agree with you- this is as good use of money that's doin' nothing, as anything else."

"It seemed like a good idea at the time," Ianto laughed. "But, yes, I did think, perhaps naïvely, that I could just hand over the building..."

"Nothing's ever that easy!" the other man laughed. "Anyway, I'm going for a pee- want a drink when I'm on the way back?"

"How could I resist?" the Welshman giggled. "I think, for a change, I'll have a Gin and Tonic."

Owen weaved off, and Ianto relaxed back into his seat.

"So _this _is what _butlers_ get up to in their spare time?"

Ianto jumped and looked to his side. It was Gwen.

"Can I take a seat?" she said, not waiting for an answer as she settled next to him on the leather sofa, as she took in what he was wearing- dark jeans and a deep maroon, very expensive silk shirt. The top two buttons of the shirt were undone and she could just see a set of silver and black beads around his neck. "Didn't I see Owen Harper here a minute ago? Now, what would you two be doing having a drink...?"

"You know how it is- I ran into him; had to point out I wasn't the same guy he's got me confused with. And then we got talking about ...rugby."

"There's something not _right_ here, and believe me, I'll work it out, Ianto Jones. I'm not used to either being wrong _or_ being turned down."

"I can assure you that everything is _right_, Miss Gwen."

Out of the corner of her eye Gwen noticed Owen with two drinks in his hands. She quickly stood, before turning. "I'd best be going now, Ianto, but I can assure you that I'm going to be watching you."

Ianto sat there as Owen sat down, depositing the two pint glasses on the table. "Was that Gwen?"

"Cheers, Owen," he said as he grasped the glass and took a large gulp. "And, yes, that _was_ Gwen. I think there's going to be trouble there, especially now she's seen me in here. I _told_ you this place was conspicuous."

"For God's sake- don't blame me! You think you could get away with this forever? It was only a matter of time before someone else who knew you came around! I can't believe you've got away with it for 6 months!"

"Neither can I. But I think I'm going to have to resign- I don't know how I'm going to explain this to them all. To Jack, especially..."

"Oh, yeah! So how's it going between you and lover boy?" Owen said, and the other man was sure he could detect a snigger behind the words.

Ianto rolled his eyes with a lift of his eyebrows. "I know you think this is funny, Owen, but he's going to be devastated. He really does think he's managed to save me from a life on the streets. When- _if _he finds out that I never _did _need to be saved, he's going to think I've been taking the piss. Like I've taken him- and the whole family- for a ride."

"And that matters to you _because_?"

Ianto blushed slightly. "Owen..."

"God! You've not been snogging the boss again, have you? Or more?"

"I have _not_. Although if the circumstances had been different...Anyway, I'll resign at the end of the week. I knew it had to happen when I got the Hub open- I've even bought a flat." He paused. "Look, can we please change the subject before I have to get back?" Ianto asked. "How are you and Toshiko?"

"Conversation changed," Owen shrugged before continuing. "Everything's fine with Tosh- thank God she's got everything in hand for the wedding..."

xxx

Gwen arrived back home before Ianto and made her way straight up to her room. She took a scarf and folded it in her hands and then made her way downstairs. When she reached the basement she made her way through the kitchen and then onto to the butler's rooms. She found the corridor empty, quietly pushing the door open and made her way over to the bed. She crouched down and pushed the scarf under the mattress and then quickly walked back to her bedroom thinking of her earlier meeting with Ianto; there was something not _right_ about him and this whole situation, and the sooner he was out of the house and away from the family, especially Jack, the better.

xxx

Gwen made her way downstairs for dinner a little after 7 O'clock, passing Ianto travelling in the opposite direction, carrying an armful of dry cleaning. She couldn't have planned things better...

She went into the dining room, with a cheery "Hi" as she took her seat at the table. Her stepfather, mother, Jack and John Hart were already there.

"So Gwen, what have you been up to today?" her mother said, as the starter was served.

"Oh, y'know a bit of shopping, and then I met up with friends in Millenium for a drink." 

"It's about time, Gwen Cooper, that you found something to do with your time, other than shopping and 'lunching'. At the rate this family is going through my bank account, there's going to be nothing left, and then you'll_ have _to learn how to support yourself!" her step father piped up.

"You could be right there, dad. I mean that place is getting run down- you should see some of the people they're letting in there these days- all sorts of riff-raff. Although I did see Owen Harper," she turned to face Jack. "And he was with this guy who looked like Ianto. I guess it must be his old college mate, that he took Ianto for that time, 'cause Millennium's not the kind of place I'd expect our butler to be spending his days off..."

Jack frowned. What _was_ she up to now? He was still trying to figure it out when she felt about in her trouser pocket and got up.

"Anyway, I've just got to get my mobile. I've left it upstairs." She was opening the dining room door when she turned back. "Talking of Ianto- it's his day off. I passed him going upstairs, did you ask him to get you anything, mother?"

"No. He was probably just doing a favour for Donna. Why do you ask?"

"Oh, nothing, nothing...I'll be back in a tick," she said and left.

Gwen was _definitely_ up to something, Jack thought was he ate his soup and wondered what it could be this time. Ten minutes later she was back, standing in the doorway.

"I...I don't know how to say this but I left my mobile on the dressing table, next to my jewellery box. When I was picking it up, I noticed that my Tahitian pearl necklace was missing, the one you got me for my 21 st. And some diamond earrings- I've called the police. I've searched and they aren't in my room."

"Gwen, you've got to be mistaken- you know what you're like at losing things...I really don't think we should be calling the police at this stage..." Mrs Harkness said soothingly.

"Mum, they _are _missing. I left them there this morning, I know I did. They've been taken!"

"We've got CCTV. If anyone got in here it'll be on that," Mr Harkness interrupted.

"It's got to be an inside job- those are the only things missing! My 'phone, my i pad, my credit cards- they're all still there."

John Hart had been watching the scene unfold. He raised his eyebrows. "I can assure you that I was painting all day- the model can vouch for me!"

"John," Gwen said. "I never said it was you. I never said it was _anyone_. Although- who's the newest member of staff? Who's the newest member of staff, the one _without _any references, or CRB checks?"

Jack couldn't keep quiet any longer. "You have got to be joking Gwen! Ianto would never do anything like that!"

"Well, you would defend him, wouldn't you? You spend most of your time eyeing him up in those suits!"

"I do NOT eye him up in those suits!"

"You do. And you're completely blinkered to the fact that you brought him into our home without even looking into his background. Perhaps that _was_ Ianto in Millenium today- perhaps that's how he can afford to drink there!"

"Gwen does have a point..."

"Don't be ridiculous!" Jack shouted

It was at that moment that the doorbell rang, effectively silencing the room. It seemed like only a few moments before Detective Inspector Kathy Swanson of the Cardiff police, and her colleague, Detective Sergeant Andy Davidson, were shown into the room by a worried looking Donna.

After some hurried pleasantries, greetings and explanations were exchanged, Davidson spoke. "Miss Harkness- Gwen- it seems that you have some ideas about who could have done this?"

"I don't like to say," she said looking down at the floor and then she raised her head to look at Jack. "But there's only one person here that we know virtually nothing about."

"And who would that be, Miss Harkness?" DI Swanson said.

"Ianto..."

Jack couldn't help himself, "Gwen!"

The policewoman turned to look at Jack, and then Gwen. "Mr Harkness, _please_. Now, who's this Ianto?"

"He's our butler," Gwen said, and risked a quick look at Jack. "My brother, Jack, employed him as our butler. He was a down and out- he met him at Cardiff docks, living rough. And as far as I know we've never had any CRB checks, any references..."

"Does he live in?"

"Yeah, he's got rooms downstairs."

Davidson looked around the room and then at Kathy Swanson. "Seems Miss Harkness has a point- perhaps we should start our search there."

xxx

There was an insistent knock at Ianto's door as he lay on the bed a book in his hand. Ianto shouted 'come in'- he had his suspicions about who was knocking.

However he _was_ surprised to see the entire Harkness family plus entourage, along with two unfamiliar faces.

"Mr Jones, I'm Detective Inspector Swanson and this is DS Swanson. There's been a theft reported. Do you mind if we search your room? It's a formality. We'll be searching the entire house."

Ianto got up off the bed. "Not at all, Inspector."

"You don't have to do this, you can ask for a warrant, Ianto." Jack said as he pushed to the front of the small crowd.

"It's alright, Sir. I'm sure there's nothing to be found in here. You can start your search, Detective Inspector."

Jack gave Ianto a tight smile, as the two police officers started to search the shelves, the wardrobe the bathroom and the wardrobe.

A few minutes later and the police had to agree that there was nothing in the room.

"You haven't checked everywhere yet. How about under the bed- or under the mattress? I've seen Midsommer Murders, they always leave things there."

The two officers lifted the mattress and looked under the bed, as Gwen watched on. After some time they placed the mattress back on the bed as tidily as they could.

In the background Jack gave a sigh of relief.

"Nothing here," Andy Davidson said.

"But it has to be here!" Gwen shouted.

Mr Harkness Snr looked at her from the corner of his eye, understanding beginning to dawn. "And why would that, be, Gwen?"

"Because...because...who else would steal my necklace?"

Mr Harkness turned to the police. "Do you mind if I speak to my daughter alone?"

Sgt Davidson regarded him. "You've got 5 minutes."

"Thanks. We'll see you all in the drawing room. In five minutes."

As the rest left the room, including Ianto, Mr Harkness turned to his stepdaughter. "Gwen, I haven't got where I am today, without recognising when someone isn't telling the whole truth..."

"But-"

"No 'buts', Gwen. Now there's something going on here, and you're going to tell me what it is."

Gwen looked sheepish. "There's nothing going on."

"Right. If that's all you're going to say on the matter, _I've _got a few suggestions to make. There's no evidence whatsoever against Ianto. I suggest you drop all charges against the man. It's more than likely that you've misplaced the necklace and earrings, knowing you. If they don't turn up in the next few days, you can make a claim against the insurance. I am not having any more about this family in the papers, especially when, as the law stands, Ianto is innocent until proven guilty."

His daughter pouted and stared at him with wide eyes. "Ok. But you'll see when they don't turn up."

"Good. Now we're going upstairs and we're going to have a word with DI Swanson and DS Davidson."

xxx

A few minutes later Mr Harkness walked into the Drawing Room, followed by Gwen.

"I think Gwen has something to say, don't you Gwen?"

The two remaining Harknesses, Ianto, John Hart and Rhys were all assembled in the room, along with the two Police, feeling for all the world as if they were in an Agatha Christie novel. Ianto hoped fervently that the conclusion to the story wasn't that 'the butler did it'; if it was, he was going to have a lot of explaining to do about his identity and what he was doing there. Never mind the Harknesses getting in the newspapers- the press would have a field day when _his _name was linked to this. Not to mention how it could affect his new venture...

"Er, yes..." she looked at Kathy Swanson. "Perhaps I _have_ mislaid the jewellery. I guess I just jumped to the conclusion it was a member of staff...the newest member of staff. The necklace and the earrings weren't in Ianto's room, so I suppose there's nothing to say this has anything to do with him."

Ianto breathed a sigh of relief.

"I'd like to withdraw any accusations, Inspector," she finished and looked away.

"See- I told you Ianto didn't have anything to do with this," Jack said triumphantly, looking over at the young Welshman, who was secretly impressed by Jack's confidence in him.

"If you're sure, Miss Harkness...?" Davidson started.

"She's sure." Mr Harkness said firmly and looked at Gwen, before he started to steer the inspector and his colleague towards the door. "I'd like to thank you for all of your help, Davidson, we'll be sure to contact you if anything turns up."

He disappeared into the hallway, with the two policemen, closing the door behind him.

"I just knew, this had nothing to do with Ianto. I just don't understand how you could have accused him, Gwen," Jack said.

"Well, my jewellery has to be somewhere," she said staring over at Ianto.

Mrs Harkness waved her hand dismissively and then spoke before the two could start to argue. "I think we should just all try to forget this incident- it's all very depressing. And, what's more it's made me really quite exhausted, and it's not the kind of atmosphere that is conducive to John's _art_."

Hart looked over at his patron, and nodded thankfully. Tomorrow's goal was to complete his new work: "Injustice".

Ianto's eyes darted briefly to Gwen, and then to her mother. "Mrs Harkness, if you don't mind, this evening _has _been quite tiring. May I be excused? I think I need some rest before tomorrow."

"Of course, of course, Ianto, you poor love. Goodnight."

The butler nodded before turning and making his way to the door. Among the 'goodnights' from John and Rhys, he heard Jack's voice, "Goodnight, Ianto." He looked back, a faint smile on his face as he said a final goodnight, his eyes settling on the son of the house, before he was gone, closing the door behind him.

xxx

An hour later Ianto was sat on his bed. He'd been going over the evening's events in his head, and had come to the conclusion that was right in thinking he had to leave the Harkness house. If Gwen's plans hadn't gone awry, he'd probably have been arrested and right now would have been at the police station, trying to explain how not only was he in the possession of Gwen's jewellery, but that he was also the son of one of Wales' most prominent families, but was working as a butler, after being mistaken for a down and out by Jack. He allowed himself a smile of satisfaction as he remembered how he'd just been tidying the bed after he'd got back from meeting Owen, when he noticed one of Gwen's scarves sticking out from under the mattress. Gently he'd pulled it out and felt something wrapped inside; he'd carefully unfolded the fabric to find one of her necklaces and a pair of diamond earrings.

He'd known that there was only one way that they could have found their way to his room, and determined to make sure that the jewellery found its way back upstairs to one of the bathrooms. It had been sheer luck that Donna called and asked him to drop off Jack's dry cleaning, giving him the opportunity to deposit the necklace and earrings upstairs, well away from him and his quarters.

There was nothing else for it, he thought, shaking his head. He was going to have to resign, and sooner rather than later. He didn't like to abandon the family- strangely, he'd come to enjoy much of his time with them, although he knew that that was most definitely down to Jack. But if tonight's events were anything to go by, it seemed that he would be better off leaving as soon as possible. He stood up, walked over to the wardrobe, retrieved his suitcase from on top, and then started to pack.

xxx

**TBC- only one more chapter to go.**


	5. Chapter 5

**Beta'ed by ** the rather wonderful janiemc

**Prompt**: "My Man Godfrey" (1936)  
**Pairing**(s): Jack/Ianto. Other characters: Owen Harper, Rhys Williams, Donna Noble, John Hart  
**Spoilers**: Spoilers for the film My Man Godfrey ('36)- none for Torchwood that I can think of.  
**Disclaimer**: I do not own Torchwood or My Man Godfrey, the plots and characters of which belong to their respective writers. I am just borrowing the characters and putting them in the film. NOT GWEN FRIENDLY- be warned. WRITTEN FOR reel_torchwood.

**Summary**: One night rich layabout Jack Harkness meets a young man down on his luck, and offers him the job of family butler...

A/N: This is the last chapter- so thank you if you've been reading or commenting.

Ch 5- in which Gwen is still horrible, but there's fluffy romance at the end.

"**My Man Ianto"**

**Chapter 5**

The next morning, Ianto helped to serve breakfast in the dining room. It was one of the few occasions where Mr and Mrs Harkness were eating breakfast together.

"Morning, Ianto!" smiled Mr Harkness. "I've got some good news for you- Donna found Gwen's necklace and earrings in one of the guest bedrooms when she was replacing the towels. God knows what they were doing there, but it's just like Gwen to put things down and forget where they are."

"That _is_ good news, Sir."

"It certainly is! And we'll be talking to Gwen about jumping to _conclusions_." There was a look on the older man's face which made Ianto think that Mr Harkness had more than a good idea of what had been going on.

"Thank you, Mr Harkness," he said as he poured him a cup of coffee, happy that Donna had managed to come across the missing jewellery so quickly. He'd been hoping that everything was all sorted out before the end of the afternoon, when he intended to leave his resignation letter for Mr Harkness and a letter thanking Jack for giving him a 'chance', before leaving. He'd wanted to leave the house knowing he'd been proved innocent, rather than the family still having its suspicions about him.

His last day at the house was uneventful; Gwen had swept out of the house after being told that the missing necklace and earrings had been found, declaring she was going straight out shopping. Jack had set out early, too, to a meeting with the local hospital's fundraising committee.

xxx

It was around 4 o'clock as Ianto packed the last of his belongings, that he heard the kitchen telephone ringing down the hallway.

As he made his way into the kitchen, Donna looked up at him. "Ianto, can you be a love and take this up to the drawing room for Gwen?" she said thrusting a glass of gin and tonic into his hand.

"No problem, Donna." He smiled- in the next couple of hours he wasn't ever going to have to see Gwen again.

He knocked on the door, before entering and finding Gwen sat in one of the large leather chairs.

"Your drink, Miss." He said as walked over and placed her drink on the table next to her.

"I'm glad it's you, Ianto- it saves me coming to find you. I've been told I have to apologise," she paused as she looked him up and down. "But we both know that the necklace and earrings _were_ in your room, before they turned up in that bathroom...and I know you put them there."

"I have no idea what you're talking about, Miss."

"Like you had no idea Owen Harper was going to be at Millennium yesterday? I've not just been shopping today. It may surprise you that Owen and I have quite a few mutual friends. I remember that first evening he met you- he thought you were one Ifan Jones. So while I was out I met up with a couple of those mutual friends for lunch. Turns out, they _did_ know an Ifan Jones- often known as Ianto. But the Ianto Jones they told me about has apparently been travelling or something in Africa for the past few years...And he's also apparently the somewhat reclusive son of one of Wales' oldest families..."

"Like I said, Miss. I really don't know what you're talking about..." Ianto repeated.

Gwen looked over at him. She was sure from her friends' descriptions that this was indeed Ianto Jones, and her mind had been working overtime since finding out. She'd also been told that he'd had a girlfriend, just before he'd 'gone travelling' a couple of years ago. She thought back to the time she'd seen Jack kissing him those months ago- it had all probably been instigated by Jack, with Ianto too surprised to push him away. In fact, it sounded like she was much more the Welshman's type than her step-brother. And she had to admit that the young man certainly looked significantly better without a beard. He'd looked even better when she'd seen him in Millennium. There might even be a way of recovering the situation, if she went about it the right way.

"I think it might be a good idea if you and I have along chat, away from the rest of the family- say we meet up at the pub down the road in about an hour, while we decide what we're going to do about all of this. What would your family do if they found out about you living rough, coming here as our butler? You can make up some excuse about an errand, and I'll say I have to meet one of my girlfriends."

"Ok, Gwen..." Ianto actually had no intention of meeting Gwen- as soon as he left the room he _did_ have every intention of leaving the letter for Mr and Mrs Harkness, and the letter for Jack, explaining _some_ of his reasons for walking out.

"I _knew_ it!" she said getting up to leave the room, not noticing Jack standing at the door. "I'll see you in the Red Dragon in an hour- shall we say 5.30?"

"What the heck are you doing, Gwen?" Jack looked crestfallen as he looked between his sister and the butler.

She winked at Jack as she walked past him, leaning in to say quietly, "It seems that Ianto and I have a lot of things to chat about..." And then she was gone.

"I should have known it was only a matter of time before she got her way. Again." There was a dejected tone in his voice.

"Sir..."

Jack looked at his wristwatch. "I guess you'd better be going before you're late for her..."

It was obvious to Ianto what Jack was thinking, and at this stage in the game he really couldn't be bothered with the formalities. "_Jack_, I have no intention of meeting Gwen at the Red Dragon, or anywhere else for that matter."

"I can't stop you if you want to, I don't really have any claim on you..."

Ianto raised his eyebrows closing his eyes for a second before speaking more firmly than his 'mentor' had heard him speak before. "I can assure you, Jack, that Gwen is _not _my type, in more ways than one."

"Oh...?" Jack still looked uncertain.

The Welshman ran a hand through his hair before muttering "What the hell!" and striding over to the other man. He grabbed Jack around the waist kissing him hard, before he drew away. "I hope that answers your question, _Sir_?" he said looking into Jack's eyes, before marching out of the room. As he'd expected, he left a shell shocked, breathless and rather dazed Jack- if he moved quickly he could be out of here before Jack had time to process what had just happened.

xxx

Ianto had been right. It had taken a full twenty minutes before Jack had raced down the stairs to the kitchen and then the servants' quarters only to find Ianto's door open and the room empty. Unfortunately for Jack, it had only taken the young man fifteen minutes to collect his suitcase, and head out of the house leaving his letter for the head of the household on the hallway table as he went. Jack had been about to turn to leave and search for the butler, when he noticed an envelope addressed to 'Jack Harkness Jnr', sitting on a small table by the door. He reached forward and tore it open, reading the letter he found inside.

_Dear Jack, _

_I'd just like to thank you for all the faith you've shown in me- there aren't many people who'd put so much faith and trust in someone, and invite them into their home. You gave me the opportunity to think about where my life was going. But now it's time for me to move on. I have every intention of doing something useful with my life from now on, and that is down to you. I'm sure you can also understand that I don't want to be put in another situation like last night's._

_Thank you once more, and I hope that you, too, find some purpose which satisfies the compassion and kindness that I know that you have. I don't think you'll see me again, which is a pity; I can only wish that I'd met you under different circumstances..._

_Best wishes for the future,_

_Ianto_

"Shit!" was all that Jack could say, before rushing up the stairs to find his father. As he passed through the hall he saw another letter, this time addressed to 'Jack Harkness Snr' and picked it up as he made his way to the study where he found his dad sitting at his desk nursing a Scotch, as he tried to complete the Times crossword.

His father looked up at the intrusion.

"Ianto's gone. I found this for you..." Jack handed the letter to him.

It turned out that the letter said something quite similar to his own letter, with Ianto thanking the family for their kindness, but it was time for him to leave now, and find his own way in the world. It also hinted at Ianto's discomfort at being accused of stealing.

xxx

Breakfast over a week later was a quiet affair, with Jack sulking as he ate a solitary piece of toast.

"For God's sake- stop looking as if the world is going to end," snapped Gwen. If the truth be told she was almost as disappointed as her stepbrother at the disappearance of their 'butler'. His coffee was a vast improvement on the last few mornings' offerings, and she'd been looking forward to finding out exactly why Ifan Jones had been living down at the docks.

"The world _has_ ended," Jack winced as he sipped at his coffee; it was far inferior to the brew he'd become used to in the last six months. "And it's all _your_ fault, Gwen."

"Get over it- he was never butler material, anyway."

"I thought he was doing very well..." Mrs Harkness interrupted.

Jack took another half hearted bite at his toast before he put it down and pushed the plate away. "He was..."

Gwen snorted. She'd got well and truly bored of her step-brother moping around the house.

"He could end up anywhere Gwen!" Jack moaned.

"Yeah right! He never needed us, he never belonged down there at the docks. That was just a con..." She trailed off as she realised Jack was looking at her, his mind working overtime.

"What do you mean?"

Gwen opted not to tell the whole truth. "You know I saw him- with Owen Harper on his day off...they were having drinks in one of Cardiff's more expensive bars, like they were old friends."

"Owen?"

Gwen hadn't meant to say she'd seen Ianto with Owen; it had just slipped out while she was thinking of a way of covering up his suspected true identity.

"Yeah..."

Mr and Mrs Harkness looked between each other as John Hart dug into his full English breakfast, insensible to the conversation around him, while Jack remembered the exchange between the doctor and their new butler, all those months ago.

xxx

Some hours later, after Jack had coerced Owen into meeting up with him for twenty minutes at lunchtime ("Honestly, I just need a quick word with you, Owen- it's important to me" he'd pleaded), the two men were sat in the nearest coffee shop to the Doctor's surgery.

"You _know_ Ianto don't you, Owen? You didn't just get him confused with an old friend- he _is _an old friend."

Harper exhaled quietly and looked away.

"You do know he's resigned and disappeared without trace? He's not even left a forwarding address for the last week's pay."

"Look, Jack. By the sounds of it Ianto didn't want you to know where he'd gone-can't you just leave it at that?"

"No! I know that you know what's going on here. _He_ kissed _me_ before he left...And I just _can't_ leave it at that..."

Owen struggled with his conscience. He'd spoken to Ianto yesterday, and he'd explained how he'd had enough of all of the pretence; how he'd grabbed hold of Jack, kissed him and left.

"OK, I know where he is," Owen said quietly and scribbled down an address on the back of one of the coasters on the table before pushing it across the table. "And he's not going to thank me for this, but yes, we are old friends and I did lose touch with him until I saw him at your party. I think he's been thinking a lot of things through since then. Looking for some kind of meaning-"

Jack reached at the coaster and smiled. "Thanks Owen, if this doesn't work out, it was worth a try."

xxx

Jack stood outside the converted warehouse on the edge of Cardiff docks, checking the address on the paper coaster. Definitely flat 26. He keyed the flat number into the intercom and waited.

"Hello?" It was Ianto's voice cracking through the small speaker- Jack would know those beautiful Welsh tones anywhere.

"Ianto- it's Jack."

There was a pause before the other man responded. "I guess you'd better, come up. I owe you an explanation, Jack. Press top floor in the lift- floor 5- and this is the only flat," Ianto said as he buzzed in Jack.

Jack looked around. This was obviously an expensive and well run building- well tended plants filled the foyer, and the entire central space was lit to highlight the Victorian brickwork. Ianto made his way to the lift. It seemed incongruous against the red bricks and was completely made of glass.

As he stepped out of the lift and onto the fifth floor landing, Jack decided that whoever Ianto was working for now was _not _financially challenged. He looked out of a window to see that the building had some fantastic views. The only door on the landing opened, and Jack jumped away from the window.

"Jack, I think you'd better come in," Ianto said. It took a moment before Jack realised exactly what was wrong- Ianto was dressed in a pair of loose jeans and a long sleeved T-shirt. The only time he'd ever seen the other man this casually dressed was when they'd first met.

"Hi are you Ok with this? Are your employers out?" Jack said as he looked about. The living area of the apartment was huge. To Jack's left was an open plan kitchen which ran seamlessly into a dining area replete with large dining table. Beyond that, at the far end of the room was a sitting area. Large windows overlooked the bay and he could see that a wide rooftop balcony surrounded the room.

Ianto laughed. "If you've got this far I think we should have a talk. I'm not sure I know how to explain any of this," he said shaking his head. "I'm guessing Owen gave you my address?"

"Sorry- I kinda emotionally blackmailed him."

"And he buckled?" There was that laugh again- Jack was enjoying this new, less subservient Ianto, even though he did worry about how they were going to explain this meeting when Ianto's employer came back home. "I have to admit that I thought he would..."

"What?"

"I'm going to have to start at the beginning- I never meant to lie..." He walked over to the kitchen returning with a mug. "Have a coffee- and, please, take a seat."

Some time later, when Ianto had finished the story of how he'd gone to help his friend and ended up getting caught up in the whole Scavenger Hunt thing, Jack sat there disbelievingly, now empty mug in hand.

"I never meant to deceive anyone- I just didn't know how I was going to explain how I'd pretended that I was living down at that warehouse. And you'd just won the Scavenger Hunt- I didn't want you disqualified. 'Specially when I'd seen Gwen's face when you beat her."

"I understand," Jack said sadly and then stifled a laugh. "I suppose my lack of insight didn't help, did it? I feel kinda stupid now..."

"I didn't exactly make it easy for you to realise what was going on, Jack!" Ianto reached forward and took the mug from Jack's fingers and then placed it down on the coffee table, and then took his hand. "And I don't expect that you're going to believe me when I say that, in the past few days, I can't even count how many times I've regretted leaving like I did." He stroked his thumb gently over Jack's knuckles. "I'm sorry."

"Apology accepted." Jack looked down at Ianto's hand wrapped around his, muttered "Sod it!" and then leaned over. He stopped just as his lips touched Ianto's.

A moment passed before neither man could hold back any longer; they kissed, arms grasping each other. Several minutes later, Jack pulled away. "I'm thinking we should stop this now- I really don't want you losing another job, but because of me this time. All you need now is your boss walking in."

He was taken aback as Ianto threw his head back and grinned. "There is no boss, Jack. There are quite a few other things I've not mentioned. For a start I don't think I fully explained what my circumstances were when I met you. This is _my_ flat- and, like I said, there is _no_ boss..."

xxx

"So, there you have it." Ianto tilted his head to look at Jack, and then reached forward to place a light kiss to his chin.

The two men were lying in Ianto's bed, propped up against far too many pillows.

"Well, I wasn't expecting that," Jack huffed and then tightened his arms around the other man, who was busy nuzzling against his chest. "But then I wasn't really expecting this, either..."

Ianto paused and then shifted and rested his cheek against Jack's shoulder. "And I certainly wasn't expecting _this_." He gave quick kiss to the shoulder and smiled. "But I'm more than ecstatic about it."

Jack grinned and dropped his head to the side, letting it rest against Ianto's hair. "I'm glad I'm not the only ecstatic one! And now everything's out in the open, I was kind of hoping that we _could_ see each other again?"

"Ah...about _everything_ being out in the open..."

Jack lifted his head with a moan and pulled away slightly. "Don't tell me- there's someone else? You're actually married with 2.4 children?"

Ianto sat up and reached out to place his hand on Jack's neck. Smiling, he rubbed his thumb gently against Jack's jaw. "It's _nothing_ like that. In fact, it's something I'd like you to get involved in."

The American looked confused as he looked into Ianto's eyes.

"It's a project I've started and you're going to love it."

Several hours later, Ianto got his answer. Jack was _very_ happy to be involved in _every_ way possible...

xxx

The End.


End file.
